My CRT TV's Weird Light Gun Issues.

[Jynx | 140]

Every CRT I've owned works with light guns, but the one I have now is... special.

The first time I used a light gun with this TV, it didn't register while playing Bayou Billy. I unplugged the zapper and plugged it back in, and it worked perfectly the whole time I had the NES on. It never worked with Bayou Billy again after that.

I took my cartridge and zapper to a store to test on their TV, which they were nice enough to let me do. The cartridge and gun worked perfectly on their TV.

Next I bought a copy of Hogan's Alley to see if it was just Bayou Billy that doesn't work. To my surprise, Hogan's Alley worked perfectly every time I played it, and has never given me problems! So I thought maybe the other black box games would be safe, and it might have just been a Konami issue.

I buy a copy of Duck Hunt, and nothing happens. I fiddled with the contrast and brightness, and I found a setting where I can sometimes get the main menu to register, but nothing in-game.

The last weird thing is that I was experimenting more with Bayou Billy, and found that if I paused on the same frame as the zapper turns the screen black, when I un-pause the game it would register as a hit. This was the only way I could have it work on Bayou Billy, except for that first time where it worked perfectly.

I am just going to buy another CRT, but what a weird problem this has been. It's not a flat screen CRT, and there's no HD support. The one big problem is there's no sharpness setting, so I can't add more blur to my screen. Playing in RF didn't add enough blur either, so I just don't get it. XD

I know there's not a lot to add to this for discussion, but I just wanted to talk about it. I've heard some zapper games were programmed a little differently than others, so that might be why Hogan's Alley works and the other two don't. Trying to find a list of information like that was hopeless though.

[Link | 2,856]

2 minutes ago, Jynx said:

not a flat screen CRT

There goes my guess. 

Strange. My guess is still that it's a later model? No buttons on the TV itself except power, channel ↑ ↓  volume + -

How big is it?

[Tulpa | 3,632]

Must be a funky timing issue or something.

I actually got Duck Hunt, Hogan's Alley, and to a degree Wild Gunman to work on my HDTV using the neslcdmod hacked ROMs.

It's a shame that project appears to be stalled. I was hoping they could finally get Freedom Force to work.

[Jynx | 140]

13 minutes ago, Link said:

There goes my guess. 

Strange. My guess is still that it's a later model? No buttons on the TV itself except power, channel ↑ ↓  volume + -

How big is it?

It's 13 inches, Sylvania CRT. It is an older model I think, because there is only one set of AV input on the front, and it only has a yellow and white slot. (No red)

I have no clue what's up. XD

[Tulpa | 3,632]

4 minutes ago, Jynx said:

It is an older model I think, because there is only one set of AV input on the front, and it only has a yellow and white slot. (No red)

Red and white are interchangeable when it comes to mono audio like on the NES. For stereo, red input is right channel and white is left, but for mono it wouldn't make a difference. Yellow is video (composite, to be specific.)

I don't know why Nintendo went with yellow and red instead of the much more common yellow and white for the AV out on the NES. But I guess it doesn't matter.

[Tanooki | 5,029]

22 minutes ago, Tulpa said:

Must be a funky timing issue or something.

I actually got Duck Hunt, Hogan's Alley, and to a degree Wild Gunman to work on my HDTV using the neslcdmod hacked ROMs.

It's a shame that project appears to be stalled. I was hoping they could finally get Freedom Force to work.

Yeah that really bugged me.  Took me awhile to track down a light gun that would work, then I was using the few modes between those carts that worked right, and then it just went quiet.  I mean I still have the gun, still care, but now I'm not stuck at least with that 9" PVM I got thankfully.

 

But this has me thinking back to what @Jynx wrote.  When I got the PVM a few things just weren't right, and I had to fish up a PDF of the service(not owners) manual online and fiddle with it three times to get it as right as it will be given it's not really meant to be a TV either exactly.

I would look up the model of TV.  I would try and find the actual service manual.  If you can find it, look for the page(s) that refer to the internal adjustments and fine tuning adjustments, including one that will be in the rear off a black box that has 2 spinner posts too (meant for focus(sharpness) and for color saturation which is like a form of combo brightness/contrast in one from what I can see of it.)  The other wheels inside you'll find settings to re-adjust the brightness, contrast, h and v hold, h and v position, possibly a few others.  Usually these have flat or philips head screwdriver indents for easy fine twisting.  Depending on position do this in a room with a mirror or if you can just lean and watch, do that.

My TV originally was offset enough to kill off an entire 8x8 square column of view space minimally, wasn't super sharp, color wasn't quite right, also both ways compressed inward, and also was offset vertically a bit too.  I had to mess with those a bit, had to double dip negotiating that rear twist with the bright/contrast to get the right balance for good black, good color, sharp picture, etc.  Now it's clean like those images you see online with the proper color you find on PVM vs consumer TVs too.  Everything detects works right, the rare chance I miss a shot, I blame it on the overhead light which I then shut off, and problem solved.

[nesmaster14 | 458]

Could just be a worn TV; performance/brightness degrades over time. The main issue with playability would be the brightness as that can affect the response from the zapper.   My guess for the game issue is games have different color/light patterns, so the brightness perhaps varies a bit between them.

Unless it's some other basic issue, I think your finding another TV is a good option; repairs aren't overly worth it unless you really know how to service electronics and handle the dangerous/lethal high voltage lurking in CRTs. Good luck on your search!

 

[Jynx | 140]

2 hours ago, nesmaster14 said:

Could just be a worn TV; performance/brightness degrades over time. The main issue with playability would be the brightness as that can affect the response from the zapper.   My guess for the game issue is games have different color/light patterns, so the brightness perhaps varies a bit between them.

Unless it's some other basic issue, I think your finding another TV is a good option; repairs aren't overly worth it unless you really know how to service electronics and handle the dangerous/lethal high voltage lurking in CRTs. Good luck on your search!

 

I wasn't going to try and open it! I'm terrified of the idea of poking around in an old monitor. People who keep arcade machines are brave to try and get them running again.

[Estil | 1,288]

38 minutes ago, Jynx said:

I wasn't going to try and open it! I'm terrified of the idea of poking around in an old monitor. 

I don't blame you one bit!  Look at just what could go wrong!! 

 

[TDIRunner | 2,841]

2 hours ago, Jynx said:

I wasn't going to try and open it! I'm terrified of the idea of poking around in an old monitor. People who keep arcade machines are brave to try and get them running again.

 

1 hour ago, Estil said:

I don't blame you one bit!  Look at just what could go wrong!!